The new playground at Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes is already popular with children and parents.
BY NANCY VOGT Editor
The north end of Trailside Park along the Paul Bunyan Trail in Pequot Lakes recently got a lot more colorful and attractive to children and their families. A bright blue, red and yellow children’s playground was installed and it’s already proved popular with kids and parents. The park was made possible through a $75,000 donation from Tom and Nancy Adams of Pequot Lakes and their family. The part of the park with playground equipment will be named the Adams Family Playground. “We are delighted to be able to give something back to the city that has become such an important part of our lives,” the Adamses said when they provided the donation. The new playground is step one of a master plan for that part of Trailside Park. Step two is constructing bathroom facilities, which the city is currently working on, and step three will be to add a splash park for children. Trailside Park is also home to a bandstand, where Bands
in the Park play for free from 7-9 p.m. Saturdays through summer. Following is this summer’s schedule: June 20: Muddy Waters, ‘50s and country. June 27: Norm’s Bait & Tackle Choir, humorous. July 4: Decade 7, classic ‘70s rock. July 11: The Lonesome Tradition, bluegrass. July 18: Daybreak, smooth jazz, rock and roll oldies, country. July 25: SOLO, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s rock and roll. Aug. 1: The Lonesome Tradition, bluegrass. Aug. 8: Muddy Waters, ‘50s and country. Aug. 15: Rockin Hill Band, older rock and roll, pop, blues. Aug. 22: Decade 7, classic ‘70s rock. Aug. 29: Mike Miller & Friends, rock and roll. Dog park Another fairly new attraction in Pequot Lakes is a dog park that was built near the water tower off Pillsbury Avenue, called the BabinskiWilson Dog Park, recognizing Pequot Lakes High School student Sheridan Wilson and the Babinski Foundation
A dog park recently opened in Pequot Lakes, located near the water tower off Pillsbury Avenue. The fenced-in area allows dogs to run and play off their leashes.
PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT
for their efforts to build the park. The fenced in park provides a place for dogs to run and play off their leashes. Diane Cummins of Pequot Lakes said a group of dog owners meets there regularly. She hopes to donate a tree for the park where she brings her rat terrier, Rocket, so he can run and get exercise. Mayo Lake Nature Preserve Another rather new park near Pequot Lakes is a bit more rustic in nature. Mayo Lake Nature Preserve consists of 67 acres of land in Crow Wing and Cass counties that was donated to the city of Pequot Lakes. The land has been conveyed as a perpetual conservation easement to the Minnesota Land Trust. The property consists of many different vegetative cover types, including upland forests and lowland shrub swamps. This park is a nature preserve designed with a walking trail to also be used in the winter for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. T h e p r e s e r ve is three
Rocket, a rat terrier owned by Diane Cummins of Pequot Lakes, fetches a ball at the Pequot Lakes dog park, located near the water tower on Pillsbury Avenue.
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miles south and west of Pequot Lakes with Hurtig Road bordering the property on the east. The property surrounds the southern portion of Mayo Lake. There are trails on the property that are used for recreational activities and management access. Other parks Pequot Lakes is also home to: • Bobber Park, located underneath the city’s historic bobber water tower and across the street from the Cole Memorial Building, features Babe, Paul Bunyan’s Blue Ox, and Paul Bunyan’s lumberjack chair. • Sibley Park, located on Sibley Lake at the intersection of North Oak
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and West Sibley streets. Park amenities include a fishing pier, playground, swings, picnic tables, barbecue grill and a picnic shelter. A boat access is located just north of the park. Plans are to replace the stairs leading down to Sibley Lake, update the playground equipment and provide new lighting in the future. • Gildner Park, located at the corner of South Oak
and Pillsbury streets in a wooded area. Wooden playground equipment, in keeping with the naturalness of the area, is available for young children, and there are benches and picnic tables.
Caleb Schmitz, 3, and his sister, Mallory, 2, have fun on the slide at the new playground in Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes.
PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT